


Long Way Down (To the Bottom of the River)

by Archangel67



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-01
Updated: 2012-10-01
Packaged: 2017-11-15 11:07:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/526618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Archangel67/pseuds/Archangel67
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles is more upset than he thought he would be when he finds out that his dad has been dating Scott's mom.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Long Way Down (To the Bottom of the River)

**Author's Note:**

> My entry for the Teen Wolf fanfiction contest. Not a winner, but congrats to everyone who either won or got an honorable mention. :)

“I’m fairly to extremely sure that Coach is actually serious, man. If you can’t get your grades up he’s gonna kick you off the team. And, honestly, in my opinion? Taking a break from lacrosse is way less embarrassing than being a seventeen year old sophomore.”

            Stiles had been chewing Scott’s ear off about this whole studying thing for the last forty five minutes. It wasn’t like the guy didn’t already know how poorly he was doing. Every time one of Scott’s papers came back with a big fat D- scrawled in red across the top of the page, it made him cringe. Worse yet was when Mr. Curtis or Mr. Harris left him ‘encouraging’ notes. Finstock didn’t bother leaving notes, although he would occasionally draw vaguely threatening faces next to the low grade. It would have been funny if it wasn’t so unnerving.

            “There’s nothing wrong with being held back a grade,” Scott muttered as he stopped at his locker. The picture of Allison taped to the inside of the door smiled out at him. Huffing, he jerked his eyes back to the cluttered mess piled inside and plucked out his English Literature and Geometry books, shoving them into his backpack.

            “Okay rebel without a cause. How good do you feel about repeating those exact same words to your mom? Pretty good?” Stiles rolled his eyes, slumping back against the lockers. “All I’m saying is that it wouldn’t kill you to get a tutor or something.”

            “Allison said she would -”

            “Not that I want to rain on your parade,” Stiles interjected. “But I think that train has left the station for right now. Besides, if you let Allison tutor you, you still wouldn’t actually retain anything. Let’s try finding someone to help who you don’t want to bang. Deal?”

            Scott just grunted noncommittally and slammed his locker shut, walking away.

            “You’ve been picking up a lot of bad habits from Derek. Is it one of those ‘imitation is the sincerest form of flattery’ things? ‘Cause it’s starting to freak me out just a little. Next thing I know you’re going to be throwing me into things and totally misappropriating my personal space…”

            “How about you, then?”

            “What about me?” Stiles smiled broadly.

            “You can tutor me. You’re good at math and stuff, right?”

            “Math. And _stuff_. Uh-huh.” Rubbing the bridge of his nose, the boy in the red hoodie sighed. “Actually, no, I can help you out with English but you should ask Lydia about helping you with math. I don’t think there’s enough patience in this universe for me to be able to help you with geometry and not want to ram a pencil through my eye.”

            “You could have just said no,” Scott frowned.

            “I could have. Yes. But you get wolf powers. I just get an awesome corpus callosum.”

            Scott gave his friend a troubled glance. “Dude. I don’t need to know about your junk.”

            Stiles looked supremely confused before catching on. “Callosum. Not cavernosum. But close,” he said helpfully. “That means you were _half_ paying attention in Anatomy.”

            “Says the guy who tried to stage a mass exodus of the frogs we were supposed to dissect.” They were half way to Stiles’ jeep, the rest of the school emptying out. There was still another month of school to go, but the weather had been growing warmer by the day. Summer was right around the corner, so close they could taste it.

            “Who still dissects live frogs? It’s disgusting. Freaking frog genocide. No. I’m sure they’re all much happier in that drainage ditch.”

            “Actually I’m pretty sure they all hopped out and got run over by cars in the parking lot.”

            “Well that’s just unfortunate,” Stiles grimaced.

            “So where are we going to study?” Scott asked as he slung his bag onto the floor, sliding into the passenger seat of the jeep. Turning the key in the ignition twice before the car actually started, Stiles checked his rearview mirror and ran a hand back through his close cropped hair.

            “Oh, are we studying now?”

            “Why, do you have something better to do?”

            “Well I kinda promised the guys online that I’d help with a raid later but, uh, okay. Anything for you, buddy. Even if they’re totally going to play without me and then I’ll have to go back and get that epic level staff for myself. You know, good raiding parties are hard to find…”

Scott had stopped listening by this point. Stiles could ramble on for hours about his online game if the other boy let him. The werewolf clearly didn’t see the appeal in pretending to be someone who he wasn’t. Unless that someone else was someone who Allison would actually pick up her phone for.

 

. . .

 

About ten minutes later, they arrived at the Beacon Hills Diner which was graced by a large neon billboard that stated “EAT 24/7” in obnoxiously fuchsia letters.

            “So what I’m saying is that come end game? That staff is going to be frickin’ killer. I know you don’t play but I can show you pictures. It’s wicked, dude.”

            “Huh?” Scott blinked, having spaced out completely after the other boy had started talking about hit points. “Yeah, sure, sounds great.”

            “Did you hear anything I said?”

            “Of course. Blah blah magic wand of zombie slaughtering. Hey, do you think Allison might be working today?” Not that she needed the money. Her family was pretty well off, but she had started picking up shifts to avoid being around her house more than necessary once her grandfather had moved in.

            “Staff. It’s a _staff_.”

            “That’s what I said,” Scott replied as he hopped out of the car and started for the door.

            “And to answer your question, no lover boy. You do remember telling me that you guys are broken up, right? Like, that’s a thing that happened? Or did I just dream it?”

            “We’re broken up.” McCall held the door for his friend before following him inside, taking one of the numerous empty booths near the windows. “For now.”

            “Don’t say it like that. It just sounds creepy.” Stiles mock shuddered. Sometimes it felt like everyone was going off the deep end except for him. Some more than others. Then again, Stiles knew that he wasn’t normal either. He was just a hell of a lot better at hiding it.

            Out of the corner of his eye, Scott had noticed two familiar forms at a table a few yards away. Zoning out on what Stiles was saying as the other boy flipped through the menu, he honed in on the words being spoken by the couple at the table.

            “ _Does he see us? He probably doesn’t see us. He’s with Stiles, they probably didn’t even notice that we were sitting here when they came in.”_ The sheriff said dismissively.

_“I wouldn’t be so sure of that.”_ Mrs. McCall smiled. “ _You should keep your voice down.”_

_“That kid of yours has to have some pretty stellar hearing if he can hear me from…”_

            “Dude.”

            Stiles frowned. “Fine, if you don’t want any fries you just had to say so.”

            “No, no. Look. Your dad and my mom. I think they’re…”

            “Oh my _god_. Are they on a date? Are you guys on a date? What the _hell_?”

            So much for being discrete. Stiles was already getting up from their booth, lifting his voice so that both of their parents could easily hear him from half way across the diner. He didn’t seem to notice that a few other onlookers had started paying attention as well. The sheriff cringed and Mrs. McCall tried to hide by lifting the dessert menu up toward her face, but it was decidedly too late for such things.

            “Hey Stiles,” Mr. Stilinski sighed. “Shouldn’t you be home?”

            “Shouldn’t you be at work?”

            “Touché. I took the afternoon off.”

            “To take Scott’s mom on a date.”

            “…To take Scott’s mom on a date.”

            Mrs. McCall slowly lowered the laminated menu from her face and smiled sheepishly at the sheriff’s son, lifting a hand in a sort of awkward greeting. “Hi.”

            The teenager looked toward her with a frown before focusing his annoyance fully on his father. “I feel like I deserve an explanation. Like right now.”

            Flustered, the older man took his son by the upper arm and led him outside, away from the intrusive eyes of the locals who were now enjoying dinner _and_ a show. The bell above the door chimed as the sheriff escorted his son into the parking lot. Stiles hadn’t even noticed before, but Scott’s mom’s car was parked off to the side, half hidden behind a dumpster. They were intentionally trying to hide what was going on, which is what really upset him. Looking back toward the building, Stiles could see Scott through the window getting up from the booth and disappearing, presumably to talk to his mother.

            “How long has this been going on for?” he asked, shoving his hands deep into the pockets of his hoodie as he leveled his gaze on the sheriff. “And why didn’t you tell me?”

            “I didn’t think I had to keep you updated on my love life,” Mr. Stilinski retorted and looked up at the clouds overhead, crossing his arms as he shifted his weight. “I knew you weren’t going to approve, and I didn’t want to upset you…”

            “So you went behind my back? And Scott’s?” The boy scoffed, almost laughing. This entire situation was completely ridiculous. They had all known each other since Stiles had dragged Scott home on the first day of kindergarten. Their moms had been friends. Mrs. McCall was like a… an aunt, maybe. But she wasn’t his mother. The sense of betrayal that washed over him was overwhelming. “How long?”

            Chewing on the inside of his cheek like he wasn’t sure whether it would be more detrimental to be honest or to continue hiding the truth, Mr. Stilinski let out a short breath. “About two months.”

            “Two… Are you kidding me? Two months and you never said anything? How can you think that’s okay, dad? That is so far from okay that it’s off the freaking map.”

            “Look, kiddo. I know you miss your mom. I do too. I miss her every day and I still love her. But it’s been _years_ , Stiles. You don’t understand how hard it is -”

            “Don’t pull that crap on me,” the boy muttered as he shook his head. “Just don’t.”

            He was already taking his keys from his pocket, nudging past his father and getting into the jeep and slamming the door closed behind him. At a loss, Mr. Stilinski went to the driver’s side window, one hand at the back of his neck. “Stiles. Come on. We need to talk about this. You can’t just…” But the jeep sputtered to life and the teenager was skidding out of the parking lot before he was even able to finish. “…run away.”

            Stiles sniffed hard, flooring it down the road. Blinking a few times, he laughed in a self-depreciating way as realized that his eyes were wet. “Oh, yeah. Real tough,” he said to himself as he wiped his palm against an eye before he had to drop his hand to grab the clutch. The weight of his father’s words was settling into the pit of his stomach like a lead weight. He hadn’t even realized that he was driving to the nature preserve until he was already there, fallen tree branches snapping like twigs beneath the wheels of the jeep as he pulled in down near the river.

            Stiles wasn’t entirely surprised that he had ended up here. It was a place they had gone fairly often when he was younger. In fact, it had been a pretty popular place to go on the weekends for all the families of Beacon Hills until the Hale house fire. After that the area had been more or less abandoned. There were still a few dry rotted benches perched near to the water, evidence of humanity left in the form of trash littering the shore line.

            “Shouldn’t you be in school?”

            The brunette looked up, startled. Derek was standing a few feet behind the bench where he had just sat down, the alpha’s arms crossed loosely over his chest. In true creeper fashion he had shown up completely out of nowhere, as if he had been wandering through the woods in just a pair of tattered jeans and a tank top. The guy didn’t even have any shoes on.

            “You have a poor understanding of how long school lasts,” Stiles mumbled as he looked back to the water. “It’s nearly four. It’s been out for like an hour.”

            “So you decided to come trespass in my back yard?”

            “This isn’t your… oh.” Actually, the edge of the river here did back up right against the Hale property, so technically it was in Derek’s back yard. Tugging his hoodie tighter around his body, he grumbled. “Just needed some time to myself, alright?”

            Derek wasn’t budging.

            “Alone.”

            Nothing response.

            “As in without anyone else around. God, you’re dense.”

            Instead of leaving, the slightly older man came around to the front side of the bench and sat down, leaving a small amount of space between himself and the teenager. Stiles continued to glare out at the water, hoping that Derek wouldn’t notice his red rimmed eyes. He did, of course.

            “You’ve been crying,” he stated bluntly. Stiles turned to state at him in disbelief. The guy might have been a werewolf but that didn’t give him license to completely forego every single rule of normal human interaction. You couldn’t just point out when someone had been crying. That was just messed up.

            “Derek.”

            “Hmm?” Hale was strangely Zen out here on his own, without any of the other members of the pack. When the betas were around, the dark haired man became increasingly gruff and impenetrable. Like he couldn’t show weakness, no matter what. It was different when he was around Stiles, although the boy couldn’t decide whether this was who Derek really was or if it was just another façade.

            “I really don’t want to talk about it,” Stiles murmured, flipping his hood up over his head.  
            “Alright, but… I would be a shitty friend if I didn’t at least make the offer.” Even with his hood obscuring most of his view of Hale, he could see him shrug. The alpha’s sentiment took him off guard. Hesitating, he pushed the hood back just enough to be able to look Derek in the eye.

            “I didn’t know you considered me a friend.”

            “You’ve been helpful.” Derek wasn’t about to admit that the younger man had saved his life several times over. Pride wouldn’t allow it. Both of them knew what had happened – it didn’t need to be reiterated just to make Stiles feel better about himself.

            Stiles smirked, sliding over a few inches until he was close enough to nudge his elbow against Derek’s. The alpha raised an eye brow. “So I’m really your friend?”

            “I’m starting to regret that I opened my mouth.”

            “Don’t be.” The teenager directed his eyes back to the slowly moving water. “…My dad started dating Scott’s mom.”

            “I don’t see what that has to do with… Oh, right.” Derek seemed mildly surprised that the boy was opening up to him, like he had thrown the offer out but hadn’t expected that anything would come of it. “And that’s a problem, why?”

            “He went behind my back. He lied to me. And I just don’t get how he thinks that it’s okay to date when… I mean, mom wouldn’t ever…” Stiles trailed off.

            “It’s kind of selfish to expect your father not to date just because you don’t want to see him with another woman,” Derek said with a frown. “Life doesn’t always go the way you think it will. Sometimes you think that you have everything figured out, that you’ve squared away the future. But that just isn’t how it works.”

            Stiles glanced up to Derek skeptically. “It’s too soon.”

            “How long would be long enough for you? Five years? Ten?”

            “I… I don’t know.”

            “I can tell you right now that time doesn’t make a difference. What people say about time healing all wounds? It’s a load of crap. Something people say to make each other feel better.”

            “I feel like Peter might argue otherwise,” Stiles said.

            “He’s an extenuating circumstance.” Derek shook his head slightly. “Anyway, that’s not the point. You need to try to see things from his perspective. It’s a rare thing, actually finding someone that you can care that much about. It shouldn’t mean that she has to be the _last_ person he ever cares about though.”

            A sudden realization dawned on Stiles. “I want him to be happy. If she makes him happy…”

            When he pivoted on the bench to face the other man, however, Derek was looking out at the water with a distant expression. Without thinking, Stiles put his hand on Derek’s where it rested on the bench between them. Shoulders stiffening instantly, Hale’s eyes dropped with impressive speed to the fingers which had splayed over his own.

            “Sorry,” Stiles laughed nervously, starting pull back. Derek caught his hand.

“No,” he stated sharply before adding in a less nerve wracking tone, “It’s alright.”

            The boy let his hand settle back on Derek’s, needing a moment before he felt comfortable enough to actually relax. Letting out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, Stiles smiled lopsidedly. “So I think I get it. Can’t change the past, right?”

            “Right,” Derek agreed quietly.

            “I guess that means that there’s nothing to do but look forward to the future.”

            The alpha laughed under his breath.

            “Go home, Stiles, and consider yourself lucky to have someone to apologize to.”


End file.
